Summary
In a post-Lord of the Ringsworld, few fantasy universes have reached widespread knowledge quite like it. In the realm of video games, the world of Tamriel inThe Elder Scrollsgames may be the best successor so far, particularly in terms of mainstream success.
However, exploring a fantasy world will inevitably lead players to uncovering arrogance all around, whether it’s from all-powerful mages, devious Gods, or just straightforward infamous jerks. There’s plenty of arrogance to share in the world of Tamriel, but some characters are arguably a little more arrogant than others. Here are themost arrogantElder Scrollscharactersthat players can encounter.
8Sheogorath
The King of Madness
ThoughOblivionis well-regarded in the gaming community already, its expansions are particularly beloved, especiallyThe Shivering Isles. In this expansion, players travel to the domain of the Daedric Prince for inevitable madness and mayhem.
Sheogorath himself is sometimes delightful but always arrogant. He has no conception of being anywhere near the level of power of the player character, and he mostly sees them as toys to be played with. He’s a very dangerous friend to have, and he’sfull of weird facts and secrets to discover.
7Ulfric Stormcloak
A Rebel Leader
Ulfric Stormcloak is set up at the beginning ofSkyrimto be a hero. After all, what kind of gamer would prefer to align themselves with the sprawling empire over the plucky rebels? However, as the player gets to know the Stormcloaks a little better, their concept of racial purity gets a little suspect.
Much of that stems from Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm. Though he does seem to fight for Nordic independence, many players believe that his ideals are mostly a pretext to in-built racism and a desire for the High King throne of Skyrim itself. That comes through with his general arrogance towards the player, particularly if they’re not a Nord, making him one of themost contentious characters in the game.
6Ancano
The Thalmor Incarnate
The Altmer in Skyrim are controversial to say the least. As the predominant peoples making up the Thalmor and the Aldmeri Dominion that has influenced the Empire itself, Ancano is the personification of the very worst of Altmer superiority.
Ancano is arrogant from the moment the player meets him, constantly saying thatthe college of Winterhold is nothing compared to Altmer magicand being incredibly dismissive of the player’s efforts or abilities. Fans don’t just love to hate him; they really do just hate him, making him a brilliant bad guy for the Mages Guild questline.
5Miraak
The First Dragonborn
When the player arrives in Skyrim, it takes no time for them to become one of the most important people in the land. That’s because they’re dragonborn, which means that they’re capable of communing with dragons andusing their powers for themselves. As far as the Nords know, the player is the first dragonborn for a very long time.
It eventually turns out, however, that the player will get to meet the very first Dragonborn (or so he says). Miraak is his name, and he is arrogant at every turn. He constantly looks down on the player character for being weak compared to him and not living up to the title of Dragonborn. This makes kicking his butt all the sweeter.
4Mankar Camoran
The Oblivion Gate Big Bad
Throughout the main quest ofOblivion, players attempt to hunt down the leader of the Mythic Dawn, the strange faction responsible for murdering the Emperor in the game’s tutorial level. Their leader is a great mystery until, finally, Mankar Camoran reveals himself.
Though eloquent and formidable, Mankar is an incredibly arrogant mage who, through his functional immortality, has come to see everyone else as beneath him, resulting inone of the franchise’s darkest characters. His sneer is practically glued to his face, making him one of themost arrogant charactersin the entire game.
3Vivec
A Self-Proclaimed God-King
Vivec is one of the most complex characters inThe Elder Scrollsand is broadly beloved by fans, even if he is one of the most arrogant people in the entirety of Tamriel. Once a mortal but now turned into a God, Vivec revels in his own deification and speaks in ridiculous riddles and paradoxes.
He is arrogant, believing himself beyond the plight of mortals. On top of that, he’s so arrogant that he doesn’t actually attempt to avert the cataclysm of Morrowind, assuming that it was all part of a plan he’d already foreseen. He’s likable and annoying in equal measure, and he is alsofull of secrets for players to uncover.
2Dagoth Ur
Awakened Lord of the Sixth House
There is perhaps nothing more arrogant than someone who believes in divine destiny where nothing can stop them. Dagoth Ur is the personification of this horse-blindered mentality to the world, believing himself to be all-powerful and insurmountable, regardless of what the player character has to say.
Dagoth Ur claims that only he can bring Morrowind to a place free from foreign rule and that he cannot be beaten, talking down to any opponents and proclaiming himself a god. Thankfully, this results in his fall being all the sweeter, especially since he is one ofthe most compelling villains in an open-world RPG.
1Nazeem
The Cloud District Enjoyer Supreme
Many of themost arrogant characters inThe Elder Scrollsare self-proclaimed Gods who believe themselves immortal or unstoppable, which is a testament to just how annoying arrogant Nazeem is. He is the resident commentator of Whiterun and a punching bag for the internet at large.
Infamous for his “Do you get to the Cloud District very often? Oh, what am I saying, of course you don’t” phrase, spat in a nasally spew of arrogance, Nazeem never fails to degrade the Dragonborn whenever they wander by. Yet, despite his pomposity, no one in the city seems to know who Nazeem is, making his arrogance all the more annoying and self-aggrandizing.
